


The Pet Detective

by justanotherfangirlpassingthrough



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Actor Park Jimin (BTS), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Noir, Alternative Universe - FBI, Attempt at Humor, Detective Jeon Jungkook, Detective Noir, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Jeon Jungkook is Whipped, Jimin is a badass, Kim Taehyung | V & Park Jimin are Best Friends, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Morally Ambiguous Character, Mystery, Park Jimin (BTS) is a Tease, Slow Build, Slow Burn, This fic was born purely out of the need to put jikook in an action sequence together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:01:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25710253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanotherfangirlpassingthrough/pseuds/justanotherfangirlpassingthrough
Summary: When Park Jimin's pet cat Mr Mochi goes missing, an eccentric Pet Detective shows up to try and help him find his cat. Only, Jimin doesn't remember hiring a detective?
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin
Comments: 17
Kudos: 96





	The Pet Detective

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know where this came from.

It was a dull August morning. The wind blew dried leaves off of dirty pavements across New York City and the skies were painted in subdued tones of grey. A classy tune of noir music played from nowhere in particular.

A man in a dark, well fitted suite and top hat walked out of an antique shop that was also secretly a bar. This man went by the name Jeon Jungkook.

Jungkook had recently been assigned quite a riveting case. A set of three seemingly unconnected robberies that had baffled everyone, including the victims. He knew that he'd have to pull out all the stops if he wanted to solve this. So he'd set up an appointment with his trusted informant and it had gone rather well. Kim Seokjin had pulled through on one of their leads and Jungkook now had everything he needed in a USB drive that sat snugly in the pocket of his coat.

He hummed lightly as he made his way to his car when he noticed a cat slinking along on the sidewalk beside him. Her tail went from side to side as she padded purposefully along the line of stores.

Jungkook wasn't normally the type of guy to interrupt busy looking felines, but he was feeling pretty chipper at the moment. "What's up little guy?" He knelt beside the cat, clinking his car keys to grab her attention.

The calico cat raised her impish green eyes at him and Jungkook couldn't help but reach out to pet the furry little thing.

Quiet an extroverted cat, this one, he noted as the animal drew closer, enjoying the attention. Jungkook happily obliged.

The cat wore a black leather collar around her neck that had a dangling gold pendant with a simple 'M' emblazoned on it. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss M, I'm Mr K." Jungkook whispered happily as the cat nuzzled against his coat with a purr.

Something fell to the ground with a soft clatter and the cat stopped mid nuzzle to look at the fallen object, her ears pricking up with curiosity. Jungkook followed her gaze to find that his pink hello kitty limited edition USB drive had fallen out of his pocket, as he went to grab it however, the cat did something that he never in a million years would have seen coming. She picked the USB drive up with her mouth and sprinted away around the corner of a building.

Jungkook sprang up and bolted after her only to find an empty cat-less alleyway.

And just like that, Jungkook lost all his leads, all the progress he'd made so far and any cause for celebration he'd had that day, leaving him with only chaos, and at the center of it all, a sneaky little cat.

\---

Park Jimin was a mess. Nothing seemed to be working out for him at the moment. What with his recent streak of disastrous dates, the countless failed auditions and to top it all off, Mr Mochi, his only source of comfort, seemed to have gone missing.

Jimin surveyed his reflection dolefully as he pushed open the glass doors to his favorite cafe. The smoky eye makeup he'd spent time on this morning was definitely one of today's wins. He mentally hi fi'd himself for that. And his blond hair that he'd managed to style off to one side to make it seem like the wind had blown in a favourable direction? Chef's kiss.

His outfit had been on the simpler side, a plain white dress shirt with a pair of leather pants, but it all came together pretty nicely. Park Jimin was a mess, but hey, at least he was a hot mess.

He slumped into one of the cushioned seats at his favorite spot in the cafe, sipping on his drink and scrolling through social media.

He'd been visiting this cafe regularly ever since he moved to New York three years ago. This was his safe space, where he came to get away from it all, to collect his thoughts, to plot complicated heists, you know, the usual.

He swayed lightly to the soft jazz tunes playing in the background, thoroughly enjoying the ambiance and barely noticed when a suite clad gentleman made his way toward his table.

Jimin only looked up when the stranger sat himself down unannounced in the seat opposite him.

He had a peculiar air about him, this stranger. He was impeccably dressed in a dark suite, but the sunglasses he wore looked like they'd been picked up from a dollar store or one of those clapped photo booths. And what was with those side-burns? They didn't even look real. Jimin scrunched up his nose in a cringe.

Any doubts Jimin had that the stranger must've lost his way and taken the wrong seat was wiped away quickly when the man looked intently at Jimin over his cheap sunglasses.

Jimin frowned right back at him with a sort of righteous annoyance, hoping that his demeanor would make it clear to the stranger that he was not welcome.

The man didn't seem to catch the hint because he responded with a crooked smile that revealed bunny teeth. Jimin noted with a huff that the dude, whoever he was, managed to look good despite his outrageous side-burns and sunglasses. (While Jimin was out here doing the most just to pass off as 'desirable' ) The world truly was an unfair place.

Before Jimin could comment on any of this though, the man spoke, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Park Jimin."

"Huh, I'm sorry but I certainly wasn't expecting company today." Jimin raised his eyebrows. "Who are you again?"

"I'm a pet detective, and word of your lost cat has reached my agency." The man slid a torn square of paper across the table towards Jimin. "I can help you find Mr Mochi."

Jimin dubiously stared at the card - it'd been hurriedly scribbled on with a felt pen. "Pet detective Services" it read, and underneath, "To avail the expert services of Detective Double O K, contact the following number: xxxxxxxx"

"Detective double O K? Is that pronounced Ook?" Jimin enunciated with raised eyebrows, slightly amused now.

"Aah, it's Kook, actually." The man scratched his head, "I somehow lost all my business cards, so I had to scribble that down in a hurry as I saw you enter the cafe."

"Kook, is that short for Jungkook? Are you Korean?"

"Uh yeah I am, Jimin ssi. Now can we get back to the urgent business of your missing pet-"

"I'm sorry, but things still don't add up here, how do you know about Mr Mochi, are you a stalker or something?"

Jungkook simply pulled out a folded piece of paper and threw it on the table in response.

Jimin recognized it immediately as the poorly edited poster he'd been sticking around the neighborhood in the hopes that someone would bring his estranged cat back to him. "Um ok fair enough. But a Pet detective, is that really what you are? Like Jim Carrey in that one movie?" Jimin asked, forgetting his annoyance for a second.

Jungkook curled his lips in a grimace, "I'd like it if you didn't mention him, thank you very much. He made a mockery of this noble profession."

"Who, Jim Car-"

"Don't mention him!"

"Alright, jeez"

"So, about that meddlesome pet of yours."

"Excuse me, did you just call Mr Mochi meddlesome?" Jimin narrowed his eyes.

"Did I? I must have misspoke. I'm sure Mr Mochi is a perfectly good cat who totally doesn't steal USB drives from strangers." Jungkook pushed his glasses further up his nose and cleared his throat.

This statement thoroughly threw Jimin for a loop, "Huh?"

Jungkook closed his eyes and massaged his temples with a frown, "I'm sorry, I'm having a rough day, Jimin ssi."

Against his better judgement, Jimin was growing increasingly intrigued by this strange young gentleman sitting across from him. But he knew better than to trust random strangers in New York City. For all he knew, this kid could be trying to swindle him out of his money. But something (probably the baby face) told Jimin that Jungkook was not a bad person. (It was maybe not a good idea to put a lot of trust in his judgement when cute boys were involved) He sighed and pushed his drink of iced Americano and untouched plate of chocolate cake towards Jungkook. "Here you go, I find that a good shot of caffeine and something sweet helps me on days like these." Depressed Jimin often turned into caretaker Jimin. It was a strange coping mechanism.

Jungkook's eyes were wide behind his clapped glasses as he picked up the drink.

Jimin watched with satisfaction as the man in front of him sipped from the cup of coffee, he then pushed against the table to stand up, "Please don't try to find me again, I don't need a pet detective, or whatever it is that you are. I'm sure Mr Mochi's just cheating on me with the lady next door who cooks amazing salmon." with that, Jimin walked out of the cafe before the strange, troubled man could stop him.

\---

Jimin would rather go without coffee for a whole month than admit this, but meeting Jungkook had been the most interesting thing to happen to him in a while.

And that's why the next day on his way back from the gym, when he found Jungkook leaning against a wall, casually holding a fully grown ginger cat in his hands, Jimin wasn't completely pissed.

"This your cat by any chance?" Jungkook asked with a crooked bunny grin as the cat meowed pointedly at Jimin.

Jimin rolled his eyes, "Some pet detective you are, Jungkook ssi. Didn't you see the poster I made? Mr Mochi is clearly a calico."

"Yeah, I know, I'm just messing with you." Jungkook released the grumpy little animal onto the sidewalk. "You know I'm usually a dog person, but cats man, they've got personality." Jungkook mused as he walked along at pace with Jimin's purposeful strides towards his apartment building. Jungkook had decided to hang on to his strange sense of style, a glittery red fedora hat with a bottle green feather sticking on top had now joined his list of eccentric accessories.

"What are you doing Jungkook ssi? Didn’t I tell you not to follow me? I don't need your help." Jimin huffed at Jungkook with narrow eyes.

"Well, did you find your cat?"

"Not yet."

"Then you clearly need my help. So, I have a couple of questions for you." His tone all business like. "Question one, does your cat have a certain attraction to glittery, maybe pink objects?"

Jimin tilted his head to one side, this person made absolutely zero sense to him. "Hmm, that's an oddly specific question. I guess I've caught her clawing at my hello kitty slippers more than once."

"Aha!" Jungkook smacked his fist onto the palm of his other hand with a triumphant expression on his face.

Jimin let out an exasperated laugh, "You are the strangest man I've ever met, Jungkook Ssi"

“Question two,” Jungkook continued, unfazed, “Why do you call her Mr Mochi when she’s clearly female?”

Jimin frowned, “And this is relevant to the investigation, how?”

“Come on, it’s been bothering me for a while, I gotta know.” Jungkook came to a halt in front of the steps leading to Jimin’s apartment complex, casually placing an arm on the railing, barring Jimin’s entry with a million dollar smile on his handsome face.

“I initially mistook her for a ‘him’ okay, nothing mysterious about it.” Jimin huffed once, blowing a bit of his whispy blond fringe out of his face and regarded Jungkook with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. What was this stranger trying to do? Was he flirting? Or was he one of those ‘too much time on their hands’ rich kids who liked to annoy hard working people like Jimin? Was Jimin being scouted by a cult of some sort? Was he going to be kidnapped at the end of all this? Or was this an elaborate hidden camera prank?

All he knew was that something was fishy here.

Musical theatre was his passion but the one thing Jimin excelled at apart from song and dance was escaping uneasy situations. Lord knows his theatre major wasn’t going to land him a job, he might as well put it to good use elsewhere.

Jimin directed his gaze into the distance somewhere over Jungkook’s shoulder and sucked in a breathe dramatically, ”Holy shit, is that Mr Mochi?” he whispered with wide eyes.

In the second that it took Jungkook to turn around, Jimin had slid past him, flipped the crazy looking Fedora hat off of his head for good measure and ran up the stairs, through the doors of the apartment complex and barely managed to slip into the closing elevator doors.

\---

Up in his semi-dark apartment, Jimin walked over to the single ray of sunlight filtering through his windows, pushed aside the curtains a tiny bit and peered at the sidewalk below. Jungkook was looking directly up at his window, his hands were in the pockets of his expensive looking suite and he had the ridiculous hat back on. He must have spotted Jimin through the curtains because he reached out and tipped his hat with a coy little smile and turned around to walk away, the bright green feather bobbing from side to side.

Charming.

\---

Jimin was in a fantastic mood the next day.

Why wouldn’t he be? Everything in his life was slowly falling apart. He was on his way home from yet another disastrous audition and Mr ‘Hey, remember me? I’m Jake from sophomore year!’ wasn’t leaving him alone. He was sure that if he had to listen to yet another enticing tale of how one of their mutual friends had landed a job at Disney, he would stab something.

Jimin stopped short when they reached the lane that led to his favorite coffee place “Uh, Jake, I would love to keep talking but I’ve got a date.” He jerked his head towards the café entrance. This was a lie of course. His dating life was as dry as the Sahara at the moment.

“Oh, well, it was nice catching up with you, Minnie. Hit me up if you need anything.”

Jimin threw him a thumbs up with a pained smile that looked more like a grimace. Just as he was about to enter the café however, he noticed something across the street that made him do a double take.

It was unmistakably Jungkook, he was juggling a set of clubs in his usual business suite, sunglasses and red fedora hat with that demented feather sticking on top of it. And for some ungodly reason, he’d decided to finish the look today with a fake red clown nose. A hand-written sign beside him read: WWH Funds for the homeless: All proceeds go to helping the homeless humans, dogs and cats of Brooklyn.

It was probably because of the clown music, but not one person passing by seemed to be paying him any heed, some even giving him a wide berth with averted eyes as they walked past.

Jimin shook his head and let out a chuckle. Was this person even real? Or was Jimin’s stressed out brain simply making him up? He walked across the street, straight to where Jungkook stood and grabbed his sleeve.

“Come on” Jimin said, starting to walk back to the café.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Jungkook yelped, barely managing to catch all the falling clubs in his arms.

“Drink coffee with me.” At times like these, he normally had Hoseok to vent on, but his best friend was all the way across the world in Korea at the moment. Jimin hated being alone when he was miserable. And even though nothing about Jungkook made sense, Jimin still had the lingering feeling that he wasn’t a total creep.

“Hold on, let me get my stuff” Jungkook pulled away from Jimin’s grip to grab his backpack and sign which were both resting against the wall and the nearly empty can of coins from the ground. They walked to the café after this.

They settled in with their drinks in a comfortable corner at the back of the café. “To what do I owe this pleasure, Jimin Ssi?” Jungkook raised his eyebrows.

“Well, you see, I had a shit day.” Jimin explained with a dramatic sigh.

“Uh-huh?” Jungkook looked lost.

Jimin propped his chin on his palm moodily, “Yeah, I had a nasty argument with my agent this morning, then I spilled coffee on myself, ended up being late to an audition I’d been really excited for.” Jimin shook his head contemptuously. “I’ve been having horrible luck with auditions lately. But this time was supposed to be different. This time I’d taken care to find myself an asian role because I’m usually not ‘white enough’ for parts. Well guess what, I’m still not white enough to play a character who's literally called Lee Choi, they somehow managed to find a white dude to play him.” He snorted, taking an aggressive swig of coffee and slamming the cup on the table with a thud.

Jungkook, who’d been nodding along to Jimin’s recount of the day with a mildly amused expression jumped slightly at the sound, “So- do you need a drink or something? There’s a bar next door-“

Jimin shook his head, “I’m trying to hold back on alcohol at the moment.” He straightened up, “Enough about me, how’s your day been going?” He crossed his legs and threw his arm over the backrest.

“My day’s turning out better than I expected, Jimin Ssi.” There was that coy smile again, was he flirting? Jimin found it hard to tell. “I don’t usually get asked on coffee dates by cute actors in the middle of the day.” He took a bite of cake, eyeing Jimin over his sunglasses.

Ok, not very subtle then.

“I don’t usually ask people with such tacky senses of style out on dates either, so we’re both trying something new here Jungkook Ssi.” Jimin regarded his eccentric companion with a raised brow. Jungkook had mercifully removed the clown nose before entering the café but the glittery hat, bright red sunglasses and black suite made him look like some weird cross between a penguin and a bird of paradise.

“Aah, I apologise about the outfit. I was set up, by my very own friend, no less.” Jungkook shook his head solemnly.

“Set up?”

“I lost a bet.”

Jimin grinned, putting two and two together, “So your friend made you juggle to clown music for charity? I like this friend.”

“Yeah well, he started the charity and I just wanted to help. My friend though, he never passes up on a chance to make me look like a dumbass. It’s his loss, I’d have made a lot more money if he let me sing instead.” Jungkook shrugged.

“Oh, you sing?”

“I sing better than I juggle.” He shrugged again.

“Hmm, I’d like to hear you sing.” Jimin rested his chin on his palm with a teasing smile.

“And I’d like to question you about Mr Mochi, but we don’t always get what we want, do we?” Jungkook mirrored Jimin’s pose and smiled right back.

“Will you sing for me if I answer your questions?” Jimin wiggled his eyebrows.

“Why aren’t you worried about your missing pet?” Jungkook frowned, straightening up.

“I miss her, but she’s done this before too, you know. I usually put out the missing posters and one of my neighbours brings her back to me. This one time, I got a call from the seafood restaurant down the lane to come collect her.” Jimin chuckled, “She’s a busy body.”

“Well, I’ve checked with the lady who lives across from you, Mrs Betty isn’t it? The one who makes amazing Salmon? I checked with all your neighbours, in fact, and all the seafood restaurants within a mile radius. No one’s seen Mr Mochi in the last 6 days.” Jungkook crossed his arms smuggly.

Jimin gaped at Jungkook, feeling a tad bit apprehensive now, “You aren’t kidding, are you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Jimin's confidence began to falter, what if Jungkook was telling the truth and something had happened to Mr Mochi? Was he being a careless pet owner? “She’s always been sorta independent you know?" Jimin mumbled, "She’s a stray, I didn’t get her as a kitten. I used to work as a dance instructor a few blocks away and she’d follow me around everywhere back then so I brought her home with me.”

Jungkook's demeanour shifted from casual to professional in a split second, his kind eyes sharpened into something more eager, “She's a stray, you say? Can you tell me where you first found her?” He took out a phone from his pocket and began tapping away urgently at the screen. He sure took this Pet Detective thing seriously, didn't he?

“Uh" Jimin frowned, trying to remember, "there’s this abandoned warehouse around Sixth Avenue somewhere, I mean it seemed abandoned at the time, I don’t know for sure- wait, where are you going?” 

Jungkook had pocketed his cellphone, grabbed his stuff and hurried off to the exit, "It's a beautiful day, join me for a drive?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Oh what the hell" Jimin muttered as he hurried to follow Jungkook.

\---

"Sleek." Jimin commented, nodding at the interiors of Jungkook's Sedan.

"Thanks." Jungkook revved the engines. He'd finally had the courtesy to remove his hat and sunglasses. (the horrible side-burns came off with them, thankfully) Sans the eccentricities, he was bare faced with dark hair falling down to his eyebrows, the effect was just- well, sexy.

"Didn't know you were actually hot underneath the clown accessories, Jungkook Ssi" Jimin pushed his seat back and flung his legs over the dash with a shit eating grin.

To Jimin's amusement, Jungkook visibly reddened. He glanced at Jimin, and then quickly back at the road, "Feet off the dash, Jimin Ssi."

Jimin obliged, still not taking his eyes off Jungkook, "You know, if it wasn't for this detective - client thing we've got going on, I'd have asked you out on a second date already."

Jungkook had a suppressed smile on his lips that exposed faint dimples, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Oh Jimin was definitely enjoying this. He'd always been the type to seek out a rush, something reckless, something dangerous. If there was anything Jimin hated, it was the depressing monotony of everyday life. And Jungkook was a breath of fresh air, a promise of adventure, something his life had been lacking as of late. "Well, Mr Mochi is in your capable hands, what do I have to worry about?" He pressed on a button by the glove box to bring down the window, letting the wind blow happily into the car.

"Oh, we're going to find your cat, Jimin Ssi, I can promise you that." Jungkook muttered almost to himself as he turned a corner. "I'm going to find her even if it's the last thing I do."

Jimin pulled one of his feet up on the seat and put his arm around his knee as he regarded Jungkook with curiosity. What a strange man. "This is a really nice car, Jungkook Ssi."

"It is" Jungkook agreed.

"The Pet Detective business must be doing real good for you to afford something like this." Jimin ran a hand across the squeaky clean dash, his fingers played with the latch of the glove box until it fell open in front of him.

Before Jimin could get a good look at the contents of the glove box, Jungkook had reached out, lightning fast, and closed it with a snap. They eyed each other for a tense second before Jungkook returned his attention to the road. "Where's this abandoned warehouse again?" He asked as if nothing had happened.

The air was still strained between them and Jimin couldn't help his growing curiosity. What could possibly be in the glove box that Jungkook didn't want Jimin to see? He decided not to pry though, because they'd just met and he was making Jungkook plenty uncomfortable with his antics already. "Turn right after the dumpling shop." He replied, "So you think there's a chance Mr Mochi's in the warehouse?"

"From what I've learnt so far about Mr Mochi, she seems like an independent cat who's using you for food and water. She probably has other homes that she leaves to when she's bored with her current place of rest."

"Huh, I knew she was cheating on me, but hearing you lay it out like that breaks my heart a little." Jimin placed a hand on his chest dramatically.

Jungkook snickered, and Jimin involuntarily searched for bunny ears, he didn't find any, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were hidden somewhere and would pop up when he least expected them to. "So yeah, I think we should give all the places she's been to a good sweep." Jungkook was saying.

He parked the car when the dingy looking warehouse came into view.

"Here," Jungkook reached into his black backpack and pulled out a can of what looked like cat treats. He shook out some of it into the palm of his hand and motioned at Jimin to hold out his hand as well. 

With pockets filled with cat treats, they got out of the car and headed towards the warehouse.

\---

The rundown warehouse was at the end of a nondescript lane. It's entryway was shuttered, a couple of window panes broken and shards of glass strewn across the floor.

"Hey, how about this?" Jimin said with a gasp of revelation as they approached the warehouse. "I can be your Watson!"

"My what now?" Jungkook tipped his head sideways to look at Jimin with a confused frown.

"You know," Jimin bounced a little as he walked, "you're basically a detective, so I can be the Watson to your Sherlock! You might not know this about me but I have a lot of experience with mysteries." He winked.

Jungkook laughed shortly, shaking his head into his hand, "Come on, Dr Watson, let's find your cat."

\---

"It's locked." said Jungkook, lightly kicking the padlock that held down the shutter.

"I can see that." Jimin crouched in front of the padlock. He pulled out two pins from his pocket as Jungkook walked away to inspect the place.

So this was where Jimin had first found Mr Mochi. _Now why would a theatre major hang out in a sketchy place like this?_ Jungkook mused, idly staring at a patch of wall that had something written on it in fading yellow paint. It looked like a logo of some sort. It read- Jungkook squinted to make sense of it- _Raven_? Yeah, _Raven Corp_. Why did that name ring a bell? Jungkook racked his brains. _A trail gone cold… shell corporation... money laundering? Or was it drugs?_

He walked up to the shattered windows and peeked through. Faint voices issued from within.

"Uh, Jimin-"

"It's open!" Jimin nearly yelled, standing up with a satisfied smile, holding the unlocked padlock and pulling the shutter open.

The voices inside stopped abruptly.

Jimin, who hadn't noticed any of this, ducked under the semi open shutters.

"Jesus-" Jungkook followed him into the warehouse, his hand reaching automatically for the holster at his side.

This was going to end well.

\---

The place was a maze, Jimin could roughly make out stacks upon stacks of boxes lined in neat columns in the semi darkness. He pulled out his phone to switch on the flashlight when he felt Jungkook's hand roughly grab his arm. Jimin looked up to see his companion shaking his head, a finger held up to his lips. Although Jimin did not understand the need to maintain silence and discretion when all they needed was to check if Mr Mochi was in here, he put his phone back in his pocket.

Jungkook's sharp eyes were darting around the place now. If he had bunny ears, Jimin supposed that they'd be perked all the way up in alert mode. He shook his head, this was not the time for such distractions.

Jungkook walked a little ahead cautiously and Jimin followed him, pulling out some cat treats from his pocket and trying to make as little noise as he could. A couple of paces and Jungkook stopped abruptly, holding up a hand to stop Jimin as well. He then snapped his head sideways and peered into one of the aisles, Jimin followed his gaze and was met with a silhouette of a man walking towards them. A couple more footsteps issued from around them at the same time.

"Who are you?" A rough voice echoed.

It didn't take Jimin much to realise that these were not the type of men you sit and have tea with. Thinking quickly, he took a step forward, "Uh, I'm Jimin. You see, my cat jumped through the window into this place and we were trying to find her. We'll just take a quick look around and get out of your hair-"

Jimin was momentarily blinded by a couple of flashlights that shone directly at his face.

A haggard looking man walked into the patch of light after a moment and Jungkook's hand involuntarily jerked up to his coat. The man's eyes narrowed, "You in the suite, empty your pockets." He was pointing a gun at them, Jimin realised, slightly alarmed at how quickly things were escalating, "Go on, you don't really look like you were walking your cat."

Jimin was about to protest, but Jungkook reached down and dug into one of the pockets of his slacks, pulling out a fist full of cat treats. "Told you we were walking our cat."

"Search him." One of the men in the back commanded.

Jungkook raised his hands slowly as one of the men patted him down. When his hands reached Jungkook's waist, the man paused and grinned "What do we have here, you walk your cat with a gun now? You a cop or something?" He opened Jungkook's coat to reveal a gun holstered to his side.

Jungkook shrugged, "You can never be too careful." He said casually, but his eyes darted to meet Jimin's, and in the split second that they held eye contact, Jungkook jerked his head sideways toward the aisle closest to Jimin and then returned his attention to the man again who was now passing the gun over to some of the other guys in the shadows. The man proceeded to pat down the rest of Jungkook, not finding much except for his cellphone and what looked like a ball of crumpled paper from his other pocket.

The man flattened the paper out, "Missing cat, if found please return to… hey look it's Daisy. Why's Daisy on here man?" He wanted to know.

"Daisy?" Jimin scoffed, unable to control himself despite their situation, "That's Mr Mochi for you, thank you very much." He could sense Jungkook rolling his eyes from the corner of his vision, but he didn't care, he was offended, how did they even think such an old lady name fit Mr Mochi?

The dude with the gun looked at Jimin like he was a madman. "It was you, you put that stupid collar on her-"

"Jared, focus." One of the other men called out. But before anyone could do anything more, Jungkook had bolted for the aisle at Jimin's side, pushing Jimin in first as he ran. The resulting commotion that issued from the background was momentarily drowned by the noise of tumbling boxes as Jungkook pushed a teetering pile of them to the ground to block the path as they ran.

Taking Jungkook's cue, Jimin ran to the end of the aisle and with a great heave, he sent the entire row of boxes crashing like a line of dominoes. They turned another corner and suddenly everything was quiet. The silence brought with it a tingling anxiety and Jimin slid down to a crouch against a box and forced his breathing to quiet down. He could sense Jungkook leaning against the box beside him. Jimin was momentarily startled when he felt fingers sliding across his thigh as Jungkook pulled his phone out of his pocket and nudged at him to unlock it. Once unlocked, Jungkook began texting furiously to god knows who. Jimin returned his attention to his surroundings.

Soon they heard muffled footsteps issuing from around the corner. Whoever it was would be turning the corner any second now, Jimin reached down to his ankle and grabbed the hilt of a familiar metallic friend. When the footsteps sounded dangerously close, Jimin took a giant swipe and the man came tumbling down with a pained yell. Not sparing any time for the man to regain his bearings, Jimin pushed against the ground with his palm and sent out a kick to the face that was guaranteed to knock the man out. He then grabbed the gun from the man's slack hands and tossed it up towards Jungkook who caught it with an expression of awe, "Wow" was all he managed to whisper before they heard more footsteps.

"Let's go." Jimin said, twirling the knife artfully between his fingers and charging in the direction of the sound.

They were quite the duo, Jimin, never having lost to anyone in close range combat in his life, made quick work of whoever he encountered and Jungkook covered their backs with precision and aim.

The next ten minutes of gunshots and chaos ended with the sound of screeching car tyres outside the warehouse. Men in suites ducked under the half open shutters to find Jimin and Jungkook panting amidst toppled boxes, rubble and injured men.

Law enforcement. Jimin thought with a shudder. He dropped to the floor with exhaustion and ran a hand through his sweaty hair as the men spread out to inspect the area. Jimin supposed that Jungkook must have called them through his phone.

Speaking of Jungkook, why had he carried a gun with him if he was just a pet detective? If all he'd planned to do that day was juggle on the streets for charity? The way he'd used the weapon too, he was a natural, carefully aiming for the non vital regions, injuring just enough to render them immobile. Jimin had never seen anything like it.

He was distracted from these uneasy thoughts when he noticed a movement near the entrance. Mr Mochi was sniffing at whatever remained of the cat treats that spilled out back when Jungkook had emptied his pocket. Jimin crawled up to his cat, feeling a mix of relief and indignation as he scooped her up in his arms. "I missed you, bud." He whispered and reached into his pocket for more treats, but sadly they'd all spilled out in the course of the mini battle he'd fought in the last few minutes.

Jungkook was beside him now, scratching Mr Mochi's ears with a fond smile. "You caused a shit ton of trouble and I don't even think you realise it." He chuckled.

Mr Mochi meowed at Jungkook and hopped out of Jimin's arms, wagging her tail importantly as she strutted away. Jungkook stood up and followed her.

Jimin stood up as well, dusting his pants. One of the officers came up to him just then, "I hope you don't mind us asking you a few questions."

Jimin nodded in consent. This was a nightmare. He tried to calm himself as he watched Jungkook climb clumsily over a fallen pile of boxes in pursuit of Mr Mochi.

The officer seemed to take Jimin's bizarre story in stride, if she was surprised at all by any part of it, she did not show. Jungkook reappeared holding Mr Mochi in one arm and something small and pink in the other. He handed the cat to Jimin and tossed the pink object, which looked like a USB drive, happily into the air and caught it.

The officer who'd interrogated Jimin turned to Jungkook with a smile. "You caused quite a mess as always, Agent Kook."

Jimin stiffened, looking from Jungkook to the woman in bewilderment.

"Why the formalities, Julia, we've known each other long enough, call me Kook." Jungkook smiled with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, Kook, you're gonna be in a whole lot of shit for this." She replied smugly.

\---

Granted, Special Agent Jeon Jungkook was going to be in a whole lot of shit. But he'd deal with that later. Right now, he watched as theatre actor Park Jimin, who was also secretly a ninja (what was up with that?) walked toward him. Even in his muddied and torn clothes, Jimin looked like he belonged on the freaking runway. His white Tee stuck sinfully to his skin and Jungkook had to look away and clear his throat when Jimin ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to shake the sweat out of them.

Special Agent Jeon Jungkook was in a whole lot of shit already.

Jimin walked right up to him and stopped just inches away, "So you work for the FBI huh? Why'd you lie?"

There it was. The million dollar question.

Jungkook broke eye contact to look down at Mr Mochi who had entangled herself between both their ankles. He couldn't possibly tell him that he'd gay panicked after seeing Jimin walk into the cafe two days ago. He couldn't tell Jimin that he'd lied and pretended to be a pet detective because the alternative was to look like a moron and admit that he'd been outwitted by a goddamn cat.

"Looks like we've both been hiding things from each other, Jimin Ssi." He raised an eyebrow and attempted to smile cheekily.

Jimin took a step back. His stare, which had been accusatory a minute ago, shifted to something more uneasy. He lifted Mr Mochi and held her to his chest almost defensively. "I took TaiKwonDo for twelve years, Jungkook Ssi. I just never felt the need to bring it up in our conversations before. That's different from your downright lie."

Jungkook surveyed Jimin's demeanour with a practised eye that years of working with law enforcement provided. There had been something about Jimin's almost acrobatic knife fighting skills that intrigued Jungkook. No one swung a knife with such confidence unless they'd been in fights before- and not just fights of the competitive variety either. Judging by Jimin's growing unease, he didn't want Jungkook to know any more about this than he already did.

_What are you hiding, Jimin?_

"Your cat sure likes to hang out with dangerous people. I'd say she's got a type." Jungkook leaned against his car with his hands in his pockets.

"Are you calling me dangerous, Jungkook Ssi?" Jimin's smile was dripping with saccharine, and Jungkook could almost taste the secrets behind those lips. He suppressed a shudder.

At that moment, Jimin felt dangerous in more ways than one.

\---

That night, Jungkook sat huddled in his apartment, the dull light from his laptop screen cast long shadows on the bedroom walls. He inserted the USB drive and waited for its contents to load, taking a swig from a can of beer.

"Your grainy CCTV footage screencap was of absolutely no use but I've managed to narrow your suspects list down to two people. I've also added one other person based on my own research. I think you'll find him interesting." Jin had assured Jungkook three days ago.

_Three high profile thefts, all three in the lower Manhattan region, involving complicated safes and millions of dollars lost._

> Suspect 1:
> 
> Seokjin's notes: Sofia Ivanova, ballerina and contortionist, 5'7, went to Julliard. She was present at two of the three events that were held at the time of the crimes. No prior criminal record but has a thing for collecting expensive jewellery, a taste for the finer things in life and a notorious credit card debt that was cleared a week after the string of crimes.

Jungkook adjusted his reading glasses and opened the second folder.

> Suspect 2:
> 
> Salma Scott, 5'7, Opera singer from Palestine, petty theft, arrested twice before, confirmed to have attended the museum exhibit inauguration on the night of the second robbery accompanied by a date.

Also attached to each of these profiles was a comprehensive study of their families, immigration records, daily schedule, social media profiles, tweets that might be considered problematic. Jin was very thorough.

Jungkook moved on to the third and final folder, curious to see what else Jin had dug up.

> Suspect 3:
> 
> Jimin Park, 5'7, theatre actor and dance instructor, no criminal records, perfect grades at school, absolutely no dirt, except- get this- he has been involved with all three victims at some point in time. He was in fact dating Ms Annie Bohlk, daughter of Henry Bolhk, our first victim, during the actual period of the theft. I had to do some serious digging, but I have sources that claim he was staying at her mansion on the _very night_ that it happened.
> 
> His living conditions are not lavish, but he is doing pretty well for a struggling actor living in Manhattan. He keeps to himself, most his friends have only lovely things to say about him. A charmer, apparently. One odd thing I got out of them is that he goes AWOL for months together sometimes and returns with a simple 'I needed a break' explanation. I say you check him out. ;)

Jungkook checked the documents for an attached picture and sure enough, it was his Park Jimin alright.

He pushed against the table and let his chair wheel him across the room, like distancing himself from his laptop and from Jin's disturbing speculations about Jimin would somehow make it all go away.

It didn't work that way though. Jungkook would have to face reality sooner or later. He dazedly ran his fingers through his hair and reached for his phone.

He dialled Jimin's number with no clue of what he'd say if the call connected. He didn't have to worry about that though because apparently the number no longer existed. Jungkook threw the phone onto his bed in frustration. He didn't realise how much force he'd used until the phone bounced off and hit a wall, effectively cracking the screen.

"Goddammit." He paced the length of the room, hands on his hips.

There was no conclusive proof yet, but Jimin fit into the suspects list pretty neatly. Two out of the three victims were Broadway producers. Jungkook sighed, unable to finish a single thought without almost drowning in chagrin. It all somehow made sense now. The knife skills, the way he unlocked the warehouse shutter in less than a minute, the look he had in his eyes sometimes, like he'd devour Jungkook whole if given a chance and the uneasiness when he realised that Jungkook worked for the FBI. It all fucking made sense.

Jungkook should have listened to his instincts. Instead, he'd let himself get in over his head because the guy was cute. 

His frustration soon turned into resentment. Why did it have to be Jimin? It'd been literal years since Jungkook had found anyone remotely interesting. And all it took was for Jimin to enter that stupid cafe with those stupid leather pants for him to fall hard.

He chuckled. This was funny, really. This whole situation was hilarious. His chuckle grew into full blown maniacal laughter. He stopped laughing just as quickly as he started though.

He had work to do.

\---

Park Jimin was nothing if not careful. At least that's what he'd believed- until he met Jungkook.

Not to discredit his instincts completely, he'd known something was off about Jungkook the moment he'd blocked Jimin's path outside his apartment. The act had awakened his fight or flight response immediately, but Jimin had chosen to forget about it, because holy shit Jungkook was adorable and hot at the same fucking time.

Jungkook was also a cop. So now what?

Jimin had to get the hell out of here, that's what.

Normally Jimin was fantastic at escaping uneasy situations. But today he'd need all the help he could get. So he called the one person he truly trusted to not betray him when things went South. He used one of his burner phones to dial the number from memory.

"Yo Tae"

"What's wrong?" A deep, husky voice issued from the other end.

It had been so long since he'd heard this voice, so long since he'd needed to hear it.

"I need a way out."

\---

\---

Three years had passed. The case of the triple burglaries had long since been thrown onto the 'unsolved' pile. It was what Jungkook considered his biggest failure.

Park Jimin had left the country, apparently to tend to a sick mother back home in Korea. And soon after, CCTV camera footage placing Jimin in random locations like department stores and bars at the time of the crimes had surfaced. The evidence was conclusive enough for Jungkook to rule out Jimin as a suspect.

And that was that.

Of course, Jungkook didn't believe any of it. "Park Jimin is a criminal. An extremely sly and manipulative one at that." He'd tell anyone who'd listen.

"The footage was taken directly from the store owners and bar owners under FBI supervision. Heck, you were there. The videos were legit, whether you like it or not." Jin would retort. "You're just mad he hasn't contacted you since he left the country."

Jungkook would roll his eyes. "You don't know him like I do, dude." He'd say with a dark, knowing look.

Seokjin would snort, "I know Park Jimin enough to know that he is exactly your type."

Jungkook would then proceed to go red in the face and mumble something about how he hated all his friends.

\---

Jungkook was right about one thing though. He did know Jimin better than most people. He knew that aside from whatever Jimin did in his spare time, he genuinely cared for the stage and for the performing arts.

So it was only a matter of time before Jimin resurfaced, and when he did, Jungkook would be there to catch him.

\---

So Hong Kong was pretty nice. The place had a vibrant musical theatre scene too, which was interesting.

Jungkook watched as a pack of journalists waited eagerly by the entrance of the Hong Kong cultural center for the arrival of some hot shot dance prodigy turned producer who'd recently opened his very own school of performing arts at the raw age of 26.

It wasn't long before a shiny Audi rolled down the entryway. Out the back seat emerged a dark haired young man dressed in all black winter couture that was accented with a pair of pink shades. The reporters who'd herded around him maintained a respectful distance as he walked up the stairs in purposeful elegance.

"-Is it true that you're providing free training for those who cannot afford it at your new school?"

"-have you watched the most recent Hong Chen masterpiece-"

"-what is the nature of your relationship with actor and super model Kim Taehyung?"

The man paid no heed to any of their queries as he continued up the stairs with his chin held up.

Jungkook cleared his throat, it was now or never.

"Jimin ssi"

The man stopped, a leg placed on the last stair, he turned around to look at the source of the voice. Jungkook noticed that his eyes were wide underneath the pink tints.

They stood there, a few steps apart for a long moment. The reporters were now looking between them with mild curiosity.

Now that Jimin was here in front of him, Jungkook felt a familiar sense of that sweet and warm something fill up in his chest. He'd missed this feeling.

"Have coffee with me." He blurted out, against his better judgement.

There was another pause, during which Jimin's eyebrows rose high above the frame of his sunglasses. Some of the reporters exchanged knowing looks as they shamelessly filmed the whole thing. Then Jimin's poker face dissolved into a blinding smile.

"I'd love to."

\---

**Author's Note:**

> About the Kim siblings:
> 
> \- Kim Taehyung: Youngest, Super model, Actor and socialite. Has far reaching influence across the entertainment industry and the under world. Old friend of Park Jimin.  
> \- Kim Namjoon: hacker, MIT grad, will do anything that his little brother asks of him.  
> \- Kim Seokjin: Oldest, runs an antique shop that is also secretly a bar in NYC.
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/dee6ciel)


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